Democrats Dig for Russians and Uncover Environmentalists


By Merrill Matthews

Democrats and the media have been on a yearlong deep dig into Russian involvement into U.S. elections. But when you dig a hole you sometimes run across things you wish had remained buried — like the dirt pointing to Russian ties to the U.S. environmental movement.

Democrats hoped their digging would expose some kind of Russian connection to President Donald Trump. That hasn't happened.

But as the investigations have progressed, there is a growing realization that Russians were trying to influence the political process and policy debates, including environmentalists' efforts to limit or stop hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, an innovative crude oil and natural gas drilling process.

Back in 2014 Anders Fogh Rasmussen, then-secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and a former prime minister of Denmark, was publicly alleging that Russia was secretly funding the anti-fracking movement.

"I have met with allies who can report that Russia, as part of their sophisticated information and disinformation operations, engaged actively with so-called nongovernment organizations — environmental organizations working against shale gas — to maintain European dependence on imported Russian gas," Rasmussen asserted.

According to the World Bank, oil and gas revenue accounts for about 40 percent of the Russian government's revenues, which it uses to expand its influence and foment mischief and unrest around the world.

Fracking has dramatically increased U.S. crude oil and natural gas production, which has pushed prices down. Lower energy prices, and especially for gasoline, have been great for consumers and the U.S. economy.

But low oil and gas prices have been terrible for Russia and the OPEC countries, especially Venezuela and Iran. So it's easy to see why Russia might fund a covert campaign to undermine U.S. energy production.

Reps. Lamar Smith, chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, and Randy Weber, who chairs the Energy Subcommittee, have been investigating Russian involvement.

They point out that last October WikiLeaks released Hillary Clinton emails that included a private 2014 speech in which then-Secretary Clinton said the State Department was "up against phony environmental groups, and I'm a big environmentalist, but these were funded by the Russians ..."

Smith and Weber recently sent Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin a letter outlining how money appears to be channeled from Russia through a Bermuda-based "shell company" known as Klein, Ltd., which doles out "tens of millions of dollars to a U.S. based ... private foundation, the Sea Change Foundation."

The letter alleges, "Sea Change then passes the money originating in Russia to various ... organizations such as the Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, and others." Those environmental groups then use the money to oppose fracking, the congressmen claim.

To be fair, environmental groups on the receiving end may not know the initial source of those funds, which is why Congress should investigate the financial chain.

And that's why Rep. Lamar has asked Twitter, Facebook and Alphabet (i.e., Google) to turn over any information they might have on Russian-backed entities pushing anti-fracking advertising.

We don't know where this will all lead, but it appears that the green movement is much "redder" than some people thought — or were willing to reveal.

Merrill Matthews is a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation in Dallas, Texas. Follow him on Twitter @MerrillMatthews. This piece originally ran in The Hill.

More Resources


03/28/2024
My Friend Joe
I write now, in the worst pain and shock, with news of my friend Joe Lieberman's death just moments ago. I write because I know what his critics will be quick to write, what news reports have already re-circulated.

more info


03/28/2024
Why I'm Resigning From the Biden State Department
Since Hamas' attack on October 7, Israel has used American bombs in its war in Gaza, which has killed more than 32,000 people - 13,000 of them children - with countless others buried under the rubble, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. Israel is credibly accused of starving the 2 million people who remain, according to the UN special rapporteur on the right to food; a group of charity leaders warns that without adequate aid, hundreds of thousands more will soon likely join the dead.

more info


03/28/2024
Gaza: Truths Behind All the Lies
From civilian casualties, the use of disproportionate force, and international biases, the mainstream narrative of the Gaza conflict often obfuscates the truth behind lies.

more info


03/28/2024
Obama, Fearing Biden Loss to Trump, Is On Phone To Strategize
As the election approaches, President Joe Biden is making regular calls to former President Barack Obama to catch up on the race or to talk about family. But Obama is making calls of his own to Jeffrey Zients, the White House chief of staff, and to top aides at the Biden campaign to strategize and relay advice.

more info


03/28/2024
Biden's Surprise Campaign Boost Has Changed 2024 Race
A standard State of the Union speech doesn't move the political needle much. But Biden's latest gave a surprise boost to his campaign in both polls and fundraising.

more info


03/28/2024
Carville Is Right: 'Preachy Women' Ruining Biden's Chances
Political strategist James Carville just issued Democrats an explicit warning that President Biden's poor polling numbers indicate serious problems with the Democratic Party.

more info


03/28/2024
Forget Kennedy Dems. Here Comes the 2024 Kennedy Voter
These days, the phrase "Kennedy voter" means different things to different members of Burke Cahill's family.

more info


03/28/2024
What NBC's Firing of McDaniel Means
Wednesday on the RealClearPolitics radio show (Monday through Friday at 6:00 p.m. EDT on SiriusXM's P.O.T.U.S. Channel 124), Andrew Walworth, Tom Bevan, and Carl Cannon talk about Ronna McDaniel being fired at NBC and Trump's Truth Social platform going public. They also discuss RFK Jr.'s new running mate, Nicole Shanahan, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's handling of the Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore.

more info


03/28/2024
McDaniel Pledged Allegiance to Trump's Big Lie
After a Trump-backed purge of the RNC this month, promoting the 2020 stolen election lie has become a litmus test for loyalty

more info


03/28/2024
Hard Times for the Professional Never Trump Losers
These are hard times for the professional Never Trumpers. Donald Trump is winning this election, they're not getting the attention they used to, and inflation has made pool boy rates simply outrageous. Those poll numbers showing Trump leading across the country have to be understood as a total repudiation of these jerks, because they are. There are a lot of reasons to want to see Trump win, but in the Top Five is seeing these goofs cry.

more info


03/28/2024
SCOTUS Abortion Pill Ruling May Doom Trump This Nov
If the Supreme Court decided to restrict mifepristone, it would energize Democrats on an issue that has proved effective for them at the ballot box.

more info


03/28/2024
Republican 'War on Women' Is a Media Myth
There's no evidence Republicans want to ban birth control. On the contrary, the GOP has led on efforts to make it easier to get birth control over the counter.

more info


03/28/2024
Trump Is Not the Victim of ‘Lawfare.' He's a Crook.
One of the reasons Republicans were so reluctant to accept Donald Trump's nomination in 2016 is that he was quite obviously a crook.

more info


03/28/2024
Progressives Have Damaged Public Faith in Our Legal System
The progressive lawfare campaign against conservatives is perhaps the most effective of the many leftist political attacks. There remains little doubt that America's justice system has been so corrupted that it is being unleashed as the main component of what Victor David Hanson has appropriately called the American "Jacobin Revolution."

more info


03/28/2024
Things Are Great, But They're Miserable, Too
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." In rereading the opening lines of Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities," I had the sense they were written last week, not almost two centuries ago.

more info



Custom Search

More Politics Articles:

Related Articles

Every American Has Troubles


Everybody has troubles. If you don't believe it then ask any American living in the year 2020.

We Need New Antimicrobials To Prevent the Next Infectious Disease Crisis


Imagine if scientists had seen Covid-19 coming years in advance yet did little to prepare. Unthinkable, right?

I Like Ike


As other statues and monuments are being removed or criticized throughout our nation, a new $150 million memorial located near the U.S. Capitol will be dedicated Thursday honoring the general who helped defeat the Axis Powers in World War II and the president who worked diligently to preserve peace during the Cold War.

A Coronavirus Vaccine Doesn't Mean the Pandemic is Over


Dr. Anthony Fauci thinks that drug companies may develop a COVID-19 vaccine before year's end.

President Trump's Latest Executive Order Will Decimate U.S. Innovation


With only a few months left in his first term, President Trump is trying to make good on his campaign promise to lower drug prices.

A 40-Year-Old Law Continues to Produce New Jobs Today


This fall, tens of millions of Americans will get vaccinated against influenza -- but they won't all experience a prick in the arm. Instead, many will take FluMist, the painless nasal flu vaccine.

Will the Doctor See Me Now?


Imagine you're traveling out of state to visit family. When you're 15 minutes from grandma's house, you decide to let her know you'll be arriving soon.

Republican or Democrat, Foreign Reference Pricing Kills Cures


The pharmaceutical industry is on a bit of a hot streak. Just last month, both Pfizer and Moderna received FDA approval for their COVID-19 vaccines. Millions of Americans have already received them.

"March In" Is Not the Answer


All Democrats and many Republicans are committed to making prescription drugs more affordable.

Is President Biden the "Sinner-In-Chief" for Promoting Easier Access to Abortions?


Archbishop Joseph Naumann, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, has taken President Biden to task for touting his faith while at the same time promoting abortions.

A Bad Means to a Bad End


What happens in a world where medical innovations like the vaccines that are defeating the coronavirus are no longer possible? That could be the result of a ham-handed effort to make America an "also-ran" country in the global pharmaceutical business.

Price Controls Happen — NOT!


The end of the pandemic is in sight, thanks in large part to the heroic efforts of the biopharmaceutical industry. American companies developed not one, but three vaccines in under a year, and roughly 3 million people are receiving those shots every day.

Foreign Drug Pricing Puts America's Most Vulnerable Patients Last


It's no coincidence that American companies led the charge to develop Covid-19 vaccines. Numerous policies -- from strong patent protections to a welcoming immigration system -- help ensure that the world's smartest scientists can pursue cutting-edge research here.

In the Fight Against Climate Change, Don't Overlook Biotech


President Biden has already laid out an ambitious climate change agenda. With a series of early executive orders, he set the stage for a ban on oil and gas drilling on federal land, an end to fossil fuel subsidies, and a transition to electric engines in government vehicles.

Don't Sabotage the Engine of American Ingenuity


It's no surprise that most of the companies behind the most effective Covid-19 vaccines are American.